Jeff Rexroad survived a beating from Lucas Pimenta and now has a little hardware to show for it.

Rexroad took plenty of punishment from Pimenta in the first round, and the Brazilian appeared to be close to getting a stoppage. But Rexroad rallied to submit the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with a slick second-round arm-in triangle choke to win the interim welterweight title at Legacy FC 14.

Legacy FC 14 took place Friday at Houston’s Arena Theater with a main card airing on AXS TV (formerly HDNet).

Welterweight champ Jorge “Macaco” Patino (27-13-1) injured his knee, and Pimenta moved in with just about a week’s notice to fight Rexroad for the interim belt. And it looked like a great move early as Pimenta tagged Rexroad with a big right hand, then came on stronger as Rexroad covered up.

But Rexroad survived the first-round onslaught and looked for a defensive takedown to regain his wits. Pimenta, though, landed another crisp right hand – and this time Rexroad immediately reached for his left eye and looked to the referee to get a stoppage for the apparent poke.

When the bout was halted, the cageside doctor asked Rexroad if he could see. His response? “Ehhh. I’ll work through it.” And he is no doubt glad he did.

But after the restart, Pimenta landed an easy takedown and started working ground-and-pound till Rexroad was able to work back to the feet. And once there, he ate bunches of left hands and was fully wobbled. But again, he survived. And though bloodied up, he was able to get the fight into the second round.

In the second frame, with Pimenta on top looking to do some damage, Rexroad remained patient. And with an omoplata within reach, Rexroad instead weaved his right hand under Pimenta’s neck, and then lightning-quick swung his left leg up for an arm-in triangle. And nearly as quickly, Pimenta was forced to tap as Rexroad snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

“Nothing really hurt me except the one overhand got me right in the eyeball,” Rexroad said. “I couldn’t see for a few seconds. I tried to work through it, and I’m glad I did. I was really looking forward to fighting ‘Macaco’ this time – I respect him a lot. I think the two styles will match up really well. When he gets better, I’d be honored to fight him.”

Rexroad (6-1) won for the fifth straight time – all under the Legacy banner. He moves on to a likely title unification bout against Patino once the champion returns. Pimenta (8-2) had his eight-fight win streak snapped with the loss.

Sampo uses effective striking to upset Banuelos’ flyweight debut

When the scores were read off – three 30-27s – and Antonio Banuelos didn’t hear his name called, he looked stunned at the outcome. But whether he liked it or not, Josh Sampo kept him from being able to find any rhythm throughout 15 minutes and upset the UFC veteran with a unanimous decision sweep.

Halfway through the first round, Banuelos turned the tables on Sampo, a strong wrestler, and landed a takedown. But from the bottom, Sampo looked to trap Banuelos’ arm, then eventually easily worked his way to his feet, and with 30 seconds left he shot for a takedown that likely sealed the round in his favor.

For the rest of the fight, Banuelos looked to counter-punch, but nearly everything he threw came up short – and Sampos countered the counters with strikes that were finding their marks. He opened up a nice cut near Banuelos’ left eye that had blood streaming down his chest throughout the third round.

Sampos said keeping the fight standing, rather than working his core strength – wrestling – was intentional.

“I knew he was going to have an awesome wrestling defense and it was going to be work to get in,” Sampo said. “But I’ve been working diligently with my standup – and if I can beat him there, beat him there. It feels awesome. I’m so blessed that Legacy gave me this opportunity to fight such a world-class athlete.”

Sampo (8-2) won for the second straight time and fifth time in his past six fights. Banuelos (20-9), who was making his flyweight debut after a long stint at bantamweight, lost for the second straight time – and first time since a loss to Bibiano Fernandes in DREAM this past December.

Peterson survives Williams’ big rights, wins by omoplata

Cody Williams beat Steven Peterson at least three times on Friday night. But he couldn’t finish him. Williams’ heavy hands were on the money early and often against Peterson. But Peterson, the 3-to-1 favorite, displayed a sturdy chin, survived Williams’ big right hands and went on to finish his shorter opponent with a second-round omoplata. Williams came with a big barrage early, behind that powerful right, but Peterson survived. But 20 seconds later, Williams landed another giant right and again put Peterson on his butt. But again, Williams wanted Peterson back up. And perhaps for good reason. Once the second round’s deep waters hit, Peterson appeared to have plenty left in the gas tank and worked masterfully on the ground looking for an armbar that Williams wisely was able to eventually roll out of. But once Peterson adjusted and latched onto an omoplata and pushed forward, Williams was too gassed to work his way out. Peterson (8-2) won for the second straight time and sixth time in his past seven outings. Williams (4-3) now has alternated wins and losses for his past six fights.

Krantz taps Farran with first-round rear-naked choke

Brandon Farran made things look pretty right out of the gate against Derrick Krantz, but it was Krantz’s ground work that wound up being a thing of beauty. Farran opened with a quick hip toss, then moved into the north-south position. He tried to roll Krantz over, but Krantz latched on to his neck, moved to the back, and Farran couldn’t get out. Once Krantz rolled the rear-naked choke over, Farran had to tap just 1:11 into the fight. Krantz (13-6), a Bellator vet, won for just the second time in five fights. But all 13 of his career wins have come by stoppage – with 12 coming in the first round and now seven by submission. Farran (7-5) had a three-fight win streak snapped with the loss. His past five fights have all been quick, win or loss, average about 50 seconds each.

Batres uses relentless knee attack to stop Harris

Lester Batres had a plan of attack against Jon Harris, and he executed it to perfection. Batres looked early for a Thai clinch against Harris and got it, and from there he was off the races with knees. Eventually, he landed one just a smidgen too low, though, and Harris got time to recover. On the restart, Harris came out swinging and tried to catch Batres off guard. But Batres went right back to the Thai clinch and started working knees again. As Harris covered up, Batres transitioned to punches and quickly put Harris to the canvas. Once there, his shots were precise enough and plentiful enough to get the stoppage. Batres (3-1) won for the third straight time and for the second straight outing stopped his opponent in the first round. After starting his career 6-1, Harris (6-3) now has lost two straight and falls to 2-2 under the Legacy banner. In February, he lost by first-round TKO to Chidi Njokuani, brother of UFC fighter Anthony Njokuani.

MTV “Caged” star Schnell wins pro debut, splits with Hollis

It wasn’t the prettiest of victories for Matt Schnell, but he’ll certainly take it. The star of the MTV docu-reality series “Caged” did enough in the eyes of two of three judges to take a split decision against Ryan Hollis in both fighters’ MMA debuts. Schnell opened the fight with a big right hand to back Hollis up early, and another had Hollis on the mat 30 seconds in. Schnell elected to let Hollis back to his feet to stand and trade, and when they did, Schnell appeared to get the best of the exchanges. Hollis’ best offense came in the second round, when he landed a gorgeous side kick that got through and caught Schnell on the button. But Schnell worked through it, landed a takedown and worked into side control in what would prove to be the closest of the three rounds. In the third, Hollis looked dominant working from his back. His best offense came by way of an inverted triangle choke that had Schnell in trouble. He got out, though he wasn’t able to do much in a round that appeared to go Hollis’ way. But the close second was just close enough in Schnell’s favor to get him a pair of 29-28 scores for the victory. Schnell (1-0), who trains with UFC standouts Tim Credeur and Dustin Poirier in Louisiana, starts out 1-0 in the pro ranks after a 3-0 amateur career. Hollis (0-1) was 2-1 as an amateur before the loss to Schnell.

Caldwell makes easy work of Armas in MMA debut

Darrion Caldwell showed just why he was a 10-to-1 favorite in his MMA debut. The All-American and national champion wrestler from North Carolina State made easy work of David Armas, cruising to a 30-27 sweep of the judges’ scorecards. Caldwell opened with a flying knee that just missed, but within 15 seconds he had Armas on the mat. Caldwell would go on to get to full mount in each of the three three-minute rounds and kept Armas from being able to get off any offense. Caldwell (1-0) picked up the easy win in his debut. Armas (2-5) saw his two-fight win streak snapped; he started his pro career 0-4.

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